AN: It's not as long as usual, but I thought this was an appropriate length for this part. Enjoy!

When Harry woke up in the morning, he immediately knew he was screwed – not literally, thank Merlin. He had fallen asleep on the bed holding Ivy close. He'd been a little cold when he'd fallen asleep, but now he was sweating. He could smell his slick in the air, and he already felt the burning desire for an alpha. He moaned quietly, yearning for Severus. Severus wasn't going to be there, though. He was stuck with Nathaniel.

"Daddy?" he heard Ivy say. "What's wrong? You look sick."

"I'm okay, sweetie," he promised her. "This is just something that happens to me every once in a while. Normally Papa helps me with it."

"But he not here," Ivy said, sounding alarmed.

"I know. I'll be alright, though. We'll just have to wait for it to pass," Harry said.

"How long?"

"It depends," Harry said. He didn't want to tell his pup that it would probably take a week.

At that moment, Nathaniel entered the room. He took an obvious deep breath. "Mm, you smell good," he said to Harry, who was disgusted that he had to restrain himself from jumping the alpha. "I'm gonna take Ivy into another room, because I'm sure neither of you want her to see what's about to happen."

"No," Harry said firmly, standing in front of his daughter to defend her from being taken away from him. Heat or no heat, he was not being separated from his pup in a place like this by a man like Nathaniel.

"You really think you have any power here?" Nathaniel challenged.

"You stay away from my pup," Harry threatened.

"I don't think so," Nathaniel said, using a spell to knock a defenseless Harry away from his stance in front of the bed. Harry tried to rise quickly, but it took him too long because of the pain he was in, so by the time he had regained his feet he was alone in the room. Nathaniel quickly returned, of course. "That pup of yours sure has a set of lungs on her," Nathaniel said. "I didn't realize just how close your heat was when I snatched you, but I suppose it's an added benefit. I always did enjoy you during your heats."

Without another word, Nathaniel forced a fighting Harry onto the bed and straddled him. Harry's back was killing him all the while and the pain was just getting worse. He was so desperate to escape, and he could virtually feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins. The eminence of disaster was spurring him on to fight even harder, and soon he saw an opportunity.

Nathaniel was hovering over Harry, not doing much at the moment. Perhaps he was savoring his moment. Taking in the angle and distance, Harry shoved his knee forcefully into Nathaniel's groin, causing the other to grunt in pain. Harry used the distraction to reach for Nathaniel's wand. As soon as his fingers had gotten around it, Harry shouted, "Stupefy!" and was incredibly relieved to see that it knocked Nathaniel across the room. He hadn't been sure if the wand would work for him. Deciding to make doubly sure, Harry added, "Petrificus Totalus," before taking down the barrier around the door, permitting him to exit the room to find his pup.

Ivy was in a room on the other side of the cabin, and when Harry got to her she was crying. "Hey, it's okay, sweetie," he told her softly.

"Daddy!" she called through her tears.

"Hey, you ready to get out of here?" Harry asked as picked his pup up.

"Yeah," she said, clinging to his back and making him wince. He didn't much care, though - not enough to tell her to let go.

Harry quickly carried his daughter out of the house, trying to ignore the simultaneous difficulties of the lashes on his back, the still-searing pain in his hand, his newly beginning heat that was only intensifying, and the gnawing hunger he was feeling. He took a careful account of his surroundings. The house was in the middle of nowhere. There was a dusty road in front of him and trees behind him. Deciding to hope for the best – that he would run into someone friendly rather than a predatory alpha – he took the road.

After walking a quarter-mile from the house, Harry had to set Ivy down to walk on her own, though they firmly kept a hold on each other's hands. He was beginning to wish he could remember healing spells a little better, but nothing was coming to him. He would just have to wait until he found help.

After walking another quarter-mile, Harry knew he needed to sit down for a moment. He found a large rock a little ways off the road and led Ivy over to it, having her sit on it beside him. "You okay, Daddy?" Ivy asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he assured her. He knew she was scared, and all he wanted to do was change that. "I'm just a little tired." Then a thought struck him rather belatedly. "I'm going to try to send a message to Papa, okay?" he said, thinking of the Patronus charm. "It may not work, though, since this isn't my wand," he said. He tried several different times using several different memories, but he never got more than a whisper of silver.

"No message?" Ivy asked when Harry lowered the wand a final time.

"No message," Harry repeated. "Come on, we better keep moving as much as possible," he said before standing and pulling Ivy up beside him. He held her hand again as they got back onto the road and started the long trek they had ahead of them. Harry considered apparating, but he was much too worn out and he wasn't going to risk splinching Ivy.

Harry had lost track of time when they finally saw another road intersecting with the road they were on. It was still morning, but he was sure that hours had passed. He wasn't sure which way they should take when they reached the intersection, but at least there was a break in the monotony.

As it turned out, he didn't have to decide which way to go at all, because as soon as he stepped onto the other road, he looked both ways and saw someone approaching them from the left. And to his relief, it was someone he recognized.

Draco Malfoy was a very different man compared to how he'd been before the war. One of the most notable differences was his affinity for taking walks. As a sixteen-year-old, he would have scorned anyone who thought such a thing could be done for pleasure, but after the horrors of the war, he found them quite therapeutic. After years of walking near his home, he found that the lack of change in scenery could get dull, so he often apparated to another random location to begin his walking.

He'd done so today, and he was considering going back home when he heard his name being called from ahead of him on the road he'd thought was deserted. Looking ahead, he saw two forms – a man and a child. The voice who had called out to him had been the man's, and he found himself hurrying forward due to the strained tone in the voice. As he neared the two figures, one was soon recognized as Harry Potter – no, Snape – and it didn't take an Auror to determine the small child was his daughter. What were they doing out there. Finally, Draco had reached the two and he was shocked at what he saw. "Harry, what happened?" he asked.

"We were kidnapped," Harry said. "By my ex. I don't have my wand, but I managed to get his and get away. I need you to contact Sev for me, and fast. I can't do a Patronus with this wand and I can't apparate right now, but I need Sev."

Draco suddenly realized that Harry was in heat. That could not be anything good. He also saw that Harry's left hand was bleeding, and knew immediately what had been done to it. Sending a message to Severus might not be fast enough. He had visited Harry and Severus at the house several times, seeing as how Severus was his godfather and he was on good terms with Harry now. He knew where Severus lived. "I can do better than a message. Would you like me to just apparate the two of you to your home?"

"Yes, please," Harry agreed quickly.

Without any further delay, Draco took hold of both Harry and Ivy before taking them home. Harry thought briefly about how fortunate it was that Draco was a beta rather than an alpha, or he might have jumped even him in the close proximity.

When they had apparated to Harry's house, he was overwhelmed with the beautiful scents of home. It was too quiet, though. The house felt empty, and he somehow just knew that Sev wasn't home. Draco seemed to have come to the same conclusion because he asked Harry, "Would you like me to send him a message now telling him to come home immediately?"

"Please," Harry said, feeling worse by the second. He didn't think he could hold on much longer. Draco might not be an alpha, but he still had male anatomy and he was looking better by the second to Harry's heat-addled brain. Harry watched as Draco sent his Patronus to Severus. "Draco," he said breathlessly, "I think I'd better go lay down. Send Sev to me when he gets here. And can you take care of Ivy in the meantime?"

"Of course," Draco said, holding his arms out for the young girl.

"Daddy?" she asked, though she didn't fight going to Draco. She knew and trusted him.

"It's alright, baby girl," Harry assured her. "I'm just gonna go lay down, okay?"

"Okay," Ivy agreed, snuggling into the safety of Draco.

With those two syllables from his daughter, Harry rushed up the stairs and closed himself inside his and Sev's room, hoping Severus would be quick.

AN: Well, there was that... I'd like to ask all of you a favor: I'm having trouble deciding just what to do to Nathaniel. Obviously, Snape's going to give him hell, but I can't decide exactly in what manner. I do know he's not going to kill Nathaniel - Snape sees that as too easy for Nathaniel and is going to give Nathaniel a taste of his anger before turning the vile thing over to the Ministry, because he has committed a crime now. Any suggestions on what exactly Severus should do to cause Nathaniel any kind of pain would be greatly appreciated. I can't promise I'll include it, but it can't hurt. Thanks for reading!